Here's another ukulele video! It's another foray into more old-school material:
http://youtu.be/iPJV9PwKLLE
And as mentioned in the video, if you're a dancer in New York these few weeks, you should definitely check out Midsummer Night Swing!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Jazz Age Lawn Party
I haven't indulged in historical costuming for quite a while -- ever since I finished college, I haven't had much occasion to do so. Yesterday, however, I went with a contingent of friends to the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor's Island. The "party" is a twice-a-year festival celebrating the spirit of the 1920s in America, complete with a live jazz band, a dance floor, and merchants of all stripes -- from food vendors a cut above the ubiquitous to milliners, cobblers, and tailors. People dress up in their best Prohibition-era garb to picnic on the lawn. I had a lot of fun -- too much fun to take many pictures, considering it was definitely a photo-worthy event.
A photo of the jazz band and their vocalist, taken from the dance floor. You can see some of the garb, like that of the man wearing the beribboned hat and waistcoat, which was just excellent.
Two talented dancers (whom I don't know) performing on the dance floor. The Lawn Party was well-attended by people I recognize from swing dancing in New York. (Also, as is evident from the onlookers in the background, there were people who looked like tourists as well as people dressed for the occasion.)
This is the only picture of me that I have from the event, taken by my friend Mike. It doesn't afford the best view of the dress, which I found in a thrift shop for about $12. Aside from altering it for length, it required very little adjustment for the era; the pleats, the shimmery material, and the cut were all period-appropriate.
And this is a view of lower Manhattan from the Governor's Island ferry as we departed the festival. The skyline has changed in the past few years; the spire and glass facade of One World Trade still takes some getting used to. But this is still New York, still beautiful, and still home.
A photo of the jazz band and their vocalist, taken from the dance floor. You can see some of the garb, like that of the man wearing the beribboned hat and waistcoat, which was just excellent.
Two talented dancers (whom I don't know) performing on the dance floor. The Lawn Party was well-attended by people I recognize from swing dancing in New York. (Also, as is evident from the onlookers in the background, there were people who looked like tourists as well as people dressed for the occasion.)
This is the only picture of me that I have from the event, taken by my friend Mike. It doesn't afford the best view of the dress, which I found in a thrift shop for about $12. Aside from altering it for length, it required very little adjustment for the era; the pleats, the shimmery material, and the cut were all period-appropriate.
And this is a view of lower Manhattan from the Governor's Island ferry as we departed the festival. The skyline has changed in the past few years; the spire and glass facade of One World Trade still takes some getting used to. But this is still New York, still beautiful, and still home.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
An Extremely Literary Week: BEA, Housing Works, and Shakespeare
I have just had possibly the most literary week of my life (outside of majoring in English at university), and it was spectacular. Here are some of the highlights:
BookExpo America
This is the annual trade fair for publishing in the US (which also attracts a lot of foreign exhibitors). As I did last year, I borrowed a pass from one of my coworkers and attended the fair for a few hours on Thursday. I got to gawk at the exhibits, catch up with some former colleagues, and grab a pile of galleys that I'm very excited to dive into (not literally):
And parked right in the Javits Center was the Penguin truck!
The moment I spotted this reminded me of being seven years old again, watching the ice cream truck come around the corner. (Maybe I was a weird kid.)
Housing Works Book Fair
Over the weekend, I volunteered at the Housing Works Book Fair. It's a great organization -- all proceeds from the bookstore go towards combating homelessness and AIDS. They have a street fair every summer where used books and media are sold very cheaply ($1 books!), with food, live music, and other festivities. There were pavilions full of books, which I was helping stock:
And at the end of the day, there were still boxes upon boxes of books remaining, so we constructed a great wall of books along the sidewalk (from which the books were loaded onto a truck):
Shakespeare in the Park
Tonight, my friend Deb won tickets to Much Ado About Nothing, the first play of this summer's Shakespeare in the Park. I adore Shakespeare, and though I've entered the lottery for (free!) tickets many times, I've never won. I was thrilled to finally be able to partake of this New York summer tradition, and it was every bit as excellent as I expected. I'd forgotten how funny Much Ado About Nothing really is (I read it years ago), and it's so much better live than it is on the page. I can't wait for King Lear during the second half of the season!
And that was my week. I'm looking forward to more literary pursuits in the coming months!
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